To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

Dozens of teenage girls attended the conference organized by local nonprofit Latinitas and held at the Austin Community College's Eastview Campus. Latinitas held the conference to teach young women how to blog and use social media.

"The technology is so rich in this day and age, there's so much more that you can do with it versus when I started," volunteer Denise Riojas said.

Riojas has been involved with Latinitas for eight years. She joined as a seventh-grader and continues to help out where she can.

"It really helped me to voice my opinion and come out of my shell," Riojas said.

The all-day event included lectures on blogging, podcasts and social media. Instructors challenged the girls to think about relevant social issues.

Latinitas’ goal is to empower young Latina women through the Internet. The girls involved write everything that goes into Latinitas’ online bi-lingual magazine.

Laura Gonzalez and Alicia Rascon founded the nonprofit ten years ago.

"We started to host clubs, camps and workshops where Hispanic girls would learn the basics of journalism,” Gonzalez said.

Riojas is studying nursing at the University of Texas. She says Latinitas gave her the confidence to pursue her dreams.

"It's really changed our lives for the better, made us more constructive, more positive and mainly more positive with ourselves and our abilities," she said.

To check out the magazine, visit LatinitasMagazine.org.